Andrew Shandro (politician)
Andrew S. Shandro, was a Canadian politician. He was the first Ukrainian Canadian to serve in the Alberta Legislature.
Shandro was the son of Stefan Shandro and his wife, Anastasia. He was a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. His grandfather was a judge and an uncle was a general in the Austro-Hungarian army. He emigrated to Canada in 1899 with his parents from the Austro-Hungarian Empire and settled northeast of Andrew, Alberta near the North Saskatchewan River. He became a prominent farmer and was postmaster of Shandro, Alberta, a rural community that bore his family's name. In 1905 he married Rose Hawrelak, daughter of Nicoli Hawrelak of Bukowina; they had six children. He was educated at Edmonton Business College and became a federal homestead inspector in 1907.
Shandro ran for the Alberta legislature as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Whitford in the general election of 1913. He won, but the election was declared void by the courts. He was re-elected in the resulting by-election on March 15, 1915.
He was "automatically elected" in 1917 by act of the Legislature. This legislation allowed for members of the Assembly serving in the armed forces to be automatically returned to their seats in the Legislature. He served as a lieutenant in the Canadian Army during World War I.
In the 1921 election Shandro was technically re-elected by acclamation for Whitford after the nomination papers of the UFA candidate had been rejected. After the election yielded a UFA government, his election result was appealed. The court declared the election void and a by-election was held July 10, 1922. Shandro was defeated, the previously-barred UFA candidate winning the seat.
He ran again in the 1926 and 1935 elections, without success.
